English geologist

Etheldred Benett, arguably the first female geologist, was born in England in 1776, the same year the American Revolutionary War began. Benett lived in Wiltshire county, southern England, and contributed to the founding of biostratigraphy.

Benett's understanding of the context of fossils put her in touch with many of the famous geologists of the day. She corresponded with and met many, from Professor William Buckland at Oxford and the famous Sussex paleontologist, Gideon Mantell to Charles Lyell, founder of the principle of uniformitarianism, and William Smith, the father of stratigraphy and producer of the first map of Britain in 1815.

Benett's contributions to geology lie in four areas. First, she commissioned the first recorded measured section at the Upper Chicksgrove Quarry, Tisbury in Wiltshire. This was donated to the Geological Society of London Library and signed by her in 1815. Second, she was a recognized...